Pikmin 4: Beneath the Surface
Pikmin 4: Beneath the Surface is a Real-Time Strategy game developed by CaptainRuigi. It is a continuation of the Pikmin series, and as such plays very similarly to past Pikmin games. Players control either Olimar or Alph and their army of up to 100 Pikmin as they explore a large world, attempt to make money, stop a corrupt organization, and learn the truth about this mysterious planet they have both been to so many times. Gameplay Pikmin 4: Beneath the Surface is a spiritual successor to Pikmin 2, as the treasure hunting mechanic returns from that game, and dungeons return as well. Players also have no fear of running out of days. Various treasures can be collected throughout the world and brought back to the ship to be converted into cash. Some treasures will actually rust over time, and if the player takes to long to find them, then the rusted treasure will not be worth nearly as much as a clean treasure. Dungeons, returning in this game, are required to beat the game. They are the only ways of obtaining upgrades for the captains. However, they aren't nearly as prominent as they were in Pikmin 2, and there are much less of them. Time no longer stops while inside a dungeon, but to compensate for this, dungeons aren't nearly as big as they were in Pikmin 2. New to this game, the environments are interconnected, and players can travel between environments using an interconnecting subterranean tunnel system that goes to all of the areas. The first time players enter an area and discover the landing site, the area is marked on their map, and at the beginning of a new day players can choose to land in this new area. Exploration is key in this game, as the worlds are much larger and have plenty of secrets and treasures to find. Days are two minutes longer in this game to allow for more time to explore, making days now last fifteen minutes before sundown. Also new to this game, players can actually choose to not go up at night in order to gain another fifteen minutes that lead right into the next day. However this can only be done once every other night, as the Captains will need time to rest between nighttime explorations. Not only that, but they will have to turn in five minutes earlier the next day in order to get more sleep. At night, there are more monsters, as well as deadly creatures that only appear at night, making the world much more dangerous. Weather Effects can occur in the environments, changing the elements of the area, such as Rain increasing the water level, or Snow covering certain cave entrances and such. There are even Cold fronts and Heat Waves, which change how well your Pikmin perform. Body Temperature is a new feature in this game that determines how well certain Pikmin perform in specific temperatures. Each environment has a base temperature rated on a scale of one through five, and each Pikmin type has a body temperature rated on that same scale. When the Body Temp. matches the environment's temperature, then the Pikmin gets a stat boost. If they are off slightly, then the Pikmin will perform normally. If they are very far apart, then the Pikmin will not perform nearly as well. Some Pikmin Types, however, are not affected by temperature. The only way to get a temp. to 1 (extreme cold) or 5 (extreme heat) is through a Heat Wave or Cold Front, which raises or lowers the temp. by 1 respectively. Story/Plot Coming And Going After the events of Pikmin 3, Olimar, Alph, and Co. all return to their planets. Hocotate Freight, finally out of debt, allows Olimar at long last to go home and see his family. He spends the next year with them, believing his exploring days to finally be over. Louie recovered from the previous events after lots of therapy, and became one of Hocotate Freight's best employees. Alph returns a hero, and along with Britanny and Charlie, they grow all sorts of new food on their planet, saving their people. They all spend the next year happily enjoying their new lives without fear. One year passes. Olimar's kids are a few years away from attending college, and he and his wife are in a panic over the amount of money it will cost. Olimar discovers it will cost more to send both of his children to college than it did to repay his company's debt! However, he devises a plan to return to the Pikmin Planet, as he remembers that there are riches to be found. In the middle of the night, he sneaks into Hocotate Freight, takes a ship, and launches back to the planet. Alph is called to return to the planet for research purposes. Now that their people are safe, the heads of the space exploration program want to know just what exactly that planet is. Alph volunteers to head back, and is sent off in a ship filled with supplies for research and exploration. Arrival Olimar touches down in a densely wooded area, which he aptly names the Shady Woods. Shortly after landing, Olimar encunters some Red Pikmin and their onion, and comments on how they seem to be everywhere. Olimar allows the Pikmin to accompany him. After a short exploration of the area, Olimar is attacked by a Hundlegs, and is brought to it's den. Conveniently, Alph happens to land not far from where Olimar touched down. Alph finds an incredibly large tree, and lands near the bottom on an outcrop. He decides to name the tree the Guiding Tree, as it guided him to a landing spot, and it is so huge that it can be seen from very far, and can be used as a way to tell where one is. Alph begins to explore thetree, and encounters an onion and a species of Pikmin he has never seen before. They are green, and capable of absorbing spores. Alph recruits them, and they help him fend off some monsters. When Alph heads off the surface for nightfall, the Pikmin follow him, and the next day Alph lands in the Shady Woods. After some exploration, Alph finds some of Olimar's Pikmin, who direct him to the Hundlegs hole where Olimar was taken. After fending off the creature, Olimar thanks Alph, and the two decide to team up to accomplish each other's goals faster. As the rest of the game can be tackled in a non-linear order, the story isn't set from here on. After Olimar and Alph team up, players can explore wherever they want at there own pace. However, there are story events in each area. Project SUPPLY 8 months prior to the events of this game, (4 months after Pikmin 3,) the President has become possesed by Power and Greed. He wants to create a monopoly through Hocotate Freight, thus controlling the entire economy of Hocotate and becming super rich. He starts Project SUPPLY, which is intended to drain the resources out of the Pikmin Planet and deliver them back to Hocotate for the President to sell. He sets Louie up as head of the group, and negelcts to tell Olimar, as the President knew this wouldn't fly with him. The SUPPLY group lands in the Sunken Cesspool, and begins to work. However, a Controlled Windstorm occurs, and the group migrates into the Crystal Cave. However, their effects on the environment more or less destroy the area, as the water becomes polluted, and the Cesspool begins to look like, well, a Cesspool. This results in an event Louie later calls the "Planet Fighting Back". A large spore monster, Spore Spawn, rises from the ground and begins to use spores to take control of various species, in an attempt to unite the planet's species against the Hocotatians. It wandered the planet for a long time. Project TITAN Project TITAN began work when the supply group moved to the Caves. They began abducting species and coverting them into mechanical variants. This further upset the planet, and soon, Spore Spawn appeared to attack the group. While most of the group died, a beta TITAN robot was able to hold off the beast, and it retreated to the Throne Room atop the Guiding Tree, where it lays it's roots, and continues to spread it's spores. Somehow, a group of Pikmin began to rapidly evolve to the point where they became immune to the spores, and thus the Green Pikmin were born. A day after Olimar stole a ship and left for the Pikmin Planet, the President, Louie, and several others set out after him, bringing supplies to revitalize the SUPPLY project, as well as to officially begin Project TITAN, a plan to make large mechs that ran in the resources from the planet in order to make things easier. Of course, Olimar still has no idea any of this has happened, and he doesn't know for a very long time. Multiplayer While this game has no specific multiplayer mode, the Story Mode can be played entirely in two-player, with one player as Alph and the other as Olimar. The players may each only have up to 50 Pikmin, and they must stay in the same Environment, but it allows for easy multitasking. Hard Mode Hard Mode is a pnother way to play the game after players complete the initial game. It is essentially the same game, but with Olimar and Louie's rolls switched. A new location is added, and two more dungeons become availible as well. Also, enemies are tougher, their locations have been switched slightly, and many even have new abilities. Not only that, but there are also new enemeis that only appear in Hard Mode. There are also no prizes for completing dungeons, so no Captain upgrades can be obtained. However, Bulbmin, a very versatile, yet very rare Pikmin type are exclusive to this mode, making the task somewhat easier. Controls TBA Characters Captain Olimar returns from the past games to take up the role of one of the two protagonists of Pikmin 4. He has returned to the planet once again for financial reasons, not to bring his company out of debt, but to create a college fund for his children. Shortly after landing he is attacked by a large Centipede monster and taken away. Luckily Alph finds Olimar shortly after landing and saves him. Olimar, remembering him from his last journey, asks Alph to join him on his quest for riches. Olimar eventually gets tangled up with stopping Hocotate Freight from destroying the planet, and he even fights the President for the safety of the planet. In Hard Mode, Olimar was the one who was appointed head of Project SUPPLY, and he leaves notes for Louie to find. Captain Alph returns from Pikmin 3 as the second of two protagonists. Alph has returned to the planet for research, as he aims to learn more about the mysterious Pikmin planet. He encounters Olimar shortly after landing, and after saving him from a large monster, tags along with Olimar in hopes that he will lead Alph towards the evidence he needs. He too gets caught up in Hocotate Freight's plot to drain the Pikmin Planet of natural resources. He stays by Olimar's side the while time, and helps him pull through the tragedy of his company's dark turn. Captain Louie, after recovering from his last trip to the Pikmin Planet, was appointed head of the SUPPLY and TITAN projects by the President, and oversaw them personally, relaying orders to the planet and the group. However, after the emergence of the Spore Spawn, Louie began to doubt the President's plans. When Olimar stole a ship and arrived at the Pikmin Planet, Louie convinced the President to head after him. He intended to arrive on the planet and find some way to help Olimar stop what was happening to Hocotate Freight, and did so by scattering messages for him to find all over the world that slowly unfolded the events of what happened 8 months ago. He has since gone missing... Louie becomes playable in Hard Mode, taking over for Olimar while journeying with Alph. The President of Hocotate Freight has changed since Pikmin 2. Thoughts of power and money have turned him into a corrupt leader. He longs to create a monopoly for his company and take over the buisiness world on Hocotate. He begins the SUPPLY and TITAN projects, and puts Louie in charge. After arriving on the planet himself, he sets out to personally drain the planet of it's valuables and resources. He even cnfronts his fromer employee, Olimar, and tries to destroy him in one of his TITAN mechs. Pikmin Hard Mode Exclusive Pikmin Locations Environments Hard Mode Exclusive Environments TBA Dungeons Hard Mode Exclusive Dungeons TBA Weather Effects NOTE: The following is still undecided. It is simply an outline of what might be. Not definite information. Precipitation: there are several levels and types of precipitation. Blue Pikmin are largely unaffected by precipitation. -drizzle- water levels might slightly rise. Will not effect Pikmin or Enemies. -rain- water levels rise. There is a small chance of Pikmin randomly drowning due to the water droplets, but they can be saved of course with the whstile. Slight wind can affect flight and increase trip chance. Some enemies will be absent, taking shelter in other locations. -downpour- water levels drastically rise, and may remain raised for a brief period of time, giving access to otherwise unreachable areas. Medium chance of random drowning. Heavy wind means winged Pikmin will not leave the onion, black Pikmin cannot stretch, as well as random flower loss. Most enemies will have taken shelter. More likely to appear when a cold front is occuring. -snow- Some water will freeze over, and abandoned and working Pikmin will freeze if left alone too long. (Time depends on body heat) Red Pikmin generate heat and cannot freeze as well as prevent nearby Pikmin from freezing. Blue Pikmin also have near immunity to the cold, but cannot help nearby Pikmin. Rocks are immune as well, as they are unaffected by temperature. Some enemies will have taken shelter. May have little to medium wind. The next day, melted snow may raise water levels slighty. Can only occur when the temperature is 2 or 1, and in certain areas it can appear if it is paired with a cold front. -Fog- Limits visibility. Can be very light or very thick. -Hail- Extremely deadly. Pikmin freeze (even red/blue/rock, though still much more slowly) quickly and can be impaled/crushed by chunks of ice randomly at any time. Wind ranges from medium to high. Enemies caught in the storm will likely be defeated by it. Highly dangerous. It is recommended to not approach an area with hail, as certain doom will arrive otherwise. If the ship sustains too much damage, the day will be ended early. But if an explorer was to brave the hail, a great reward may lay in wait... Other Weather: -Severe Wind- doesn't deal damage to the player, but makes it difficult to move around without being blown about. Pikmin may fly away to another part of the map, and it is impossible to use Winged Pikmin or Black Pikmin. -Concentrated Wind Storm- one of the few weather elements that can occur anywhere, this results in the area being completly inacssesable for a day or two. -Heat Wave- raises environment's temperature by 1, thus changing how well certain Pikmin types will perform. -Cold Front- lowers environment's temperature by 1, thus changing how well certain Pikmin thoes will perform. -Clouds- very minor change. A select few enemies can only appear when it is cloudy. The last minute of the day is dark enough for some nocturnal creatures to come out. -Falling Leaves- very minor change. Leaves may rest in water, allowing for shortcuts to other areas. Beware of falling fruit! -Drought- lowers water level. Can open access to otherwise inaccessible areas. -Flood- raises water level. Can open access to otherwise inaccessible areas. -Freezing- decrease temperature by 1. Freezes water. Enemies A large amount of enemies return from past games, but there are still newer enemies for the Captains to fight, and even returning enemies have new strategies or new ways to defeat them. Bold Enemies are new to this game. ''Italicized enemies are fought as bosses or mini-bosses at least once.'' Hard Mode Exclusive Enemies TBA